The Rule of 80 is an optional early retirement provision in which an employee may retire with an unreduced benefit if the sum of age and years of service equal 80.

Example:

Age Jane Employee begins work: 20
Jane's Years of Service: 30
Jane's retirement age: 50
30 Years of Service + Age 50 = 80

Jane Employee is eligible for an unreduced LAGERS benefit at age 50 under the Rule of 80.

Regular unreduced retirement age for general employees is age 60, or age 55 for police officers and fire fighters. All employees may retire up to 5 years early. Without Rule of 80, the reduction in a member's monthly benefit is one half of one percent per month that the member retires early (6% per year). The Rule of 80 allows eligible members to retire prior to their regular retirement age without a reduction.

Does the Rule of 80 apply to all employees?

No. If a general employee begins LAGERS covered service after age 40, he or she will reach regular retirement age before the combination of years of service and age total 80. The same is true for police and fire employees who begin employment after age 30.

An active member must go directly from service to retirement for the Rule of 80 to apply.

Deferred retirements do not qualify under the Rule of 80. For example: A member cannot cease LAGERS employment with age and service credit totalling 78 and wait for two years and then apply for retirement under the Rule of 80.

If an employee comes and goes with the same employer, which service is counted toward the Rule of 80?

Years and months of covered time actually worked (full time) are counted toward the Rule of 80. Any time in which the employee is not employed in a full time covered position would not count toward the Rule of 80.

Is there anything special about the minimum number of years for the Rule of 80?

In order to qualify for a retirement benefit, an employee must be vested with at last 5 years of service credit. For the Rule of 80, all years and months are counted toward eligibility. If an employee has 26 years and 6 months of credited service and is 53 years and 7 months old, the employee would qualify for the Rule of 80.

If an employee has worked for multiple LAGERS employers, how does this affect the Rule of 80?

ALL service credit is counted toward ELIGIBILITY for the Rule of 80 at the employe who has the Rule of 80.
Typical question: "I am 55 years old and have 18 years of service with my current employer "A" who has the Rule of 80. I have 7 years of service with my pervious employer "B" who does not have the Rule of 80. How is my retirement figured?"

All service credit is used to determine eligibility for the Rule of 80 at employer "A" only. All 25 years of service credit and 55 years of age would give the employee the option to retire with an unreduced benefit at employer "A" for actual years of service at employer "A" (18 Years). Service at employer "B" (7 Years) would fall under normal early retirement reduction factors since employer "B" did not have the Ruleof 80. The two calculations would be combined into one benefit.